1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to countermeasures and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for providing protective cover against homing devices operating on sonar or microwave reflected energy or for confusing search and tracking devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is a need for a countermeasures system consisting of decoy rounds for use aboard sea going military vessels which can produce targets to deceive and generate confusion in search, tracking and homing weapons systems. The countermeasures system must operate with respect to a sea going vessel, such as a ship: (1) close to the ship to confuse the ranging elements of homing weapons; (2) far enough away from the ship to minimize blast damage to the ship from weapons centered on the countermeasures system; (3) slightly below sea level to appear near sea level to long distance search weapons; and (4) sufficiently large in deceptive ability to appear to homing weapons to duplicate the target size of the smallest target sea going vessel. Generation of larger targets to simulate larger ships may require the use of several decoy rounds which are fired from the ship at close intervals.
One such device of the prior art which may be utilized to provide protective cover for ships by confusing sensing mechanisms of incoming torpedoes, missiles and the like is the decoy round countermeasure system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,665. U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,665 discloses a countermeasures system which includes a decoy round launching mechanism and a plurality of decoy rounds constructed for launch by the mechanism. Each decoy round, in turn, provide protective cover for the ship and includes at least one load of energy generating material, means for propelling the load, a burst charge for shattering the load and means for igniting the burst charge. Other prior art patents which disclose decoy devices to provide protective cover are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,286,498 and 4,433,333.
While these prior art devices perform satisfactorily for their intended purpose, that is providing protective cover for sea going vessels and the like these prior art devices leave something to be desired in that these devices are not readily adaptable to movement and maneuvering of the vessel which may allow a weapon to home in on the vessel and thus damage the vessel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel decoy apparatus.
It is another object of the present of invention to provide means for confusing energy sensor systems, particularly those operating on microwave reflected energy.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a simple and inexpensive decoy apparatus which effectively confuses the sensor systems of incoming torpedoes and the like.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a decoy system using low-cost, easily-handled rounds which provide added defense and attack support for sea based operations.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description of the invention is set forth below.